Psychology Commons^™

Infant Perceptions Of Mixed-Race Faces: An Exploration Of The Hypodescent Rule In 8.5 Month-Old Infants, Sophie Beiers

Pitzer Senior Theses

Studies have shown that adults often categorize mixed-race individuals of White and non-White descent as members of the non-White racial group, an effect said to be reminiscent of the “hypodescent” or “one-drop rule.” This effect has not yet been thoroughly studied in infants, although 9-month-old infants have been shown to be able to categorize mono-racial faces into different racial groups. In the present study, the perception of mixed-race White and Asian/Asian American faces was studied in sixteen 8.5-month-old infants. The infants were randomly assigned to two stimulus groups. The stimuli were the photographed faces of female college students who had …

The Impact Of Home Visitor Relationship Quality On Parenting And Child Outcomes: Does Maternal Age Matter?, Elizabeth A. Colsey

Senior Honors Theses

Early Head Start (EHS) is an early intervention program that seeks to mitigate the effects of risk for those families with young children. Consistent with attachment theory, the home visiting component of EHS targets parent-child relationships in order to combat negative child outcomes. Research indicates that children of adolescent mothers are susceptible to poor outcomes both in childhood and adulthood. The current study utilized EHS data from 1198 parent-child dyads to assess the indirect relationship of home visitor quality on child aggression through parent quality, as moderated by maternal age. Findings indicated that home visitor quality may have a greater …

Infants’ Responses To Affect In Music And Speech, Daniel K. Feinberg

Pitzer Senior Theses

Existing literature demonstrates that infants can discriminate between categories of infant-directed (ID) speech based on the speaker’s intended message – that is, infants recognize the difference between comforting and approving ID speech, and treat different utterances from within these two categories similarly. Furthermore, the literature also demonstrates that infants understand many aspects of music and can discriminate between happy and sad music. Building on these findings, the present study investigated whether exposure to happy or sad piano music would systematically affect infants’ preferences for comforting or approving ID speech. Five- to nine-month-old infants’ preferences for comforting or approving ID speech …

Parenting Styles And Self-Esteem, Lucy C. Driscoll

Scripps Senior Theses

Data from 183 participants were collected through an online survey focusing on the relationship between parenting styles and self-esteem across a specific age range. Parenting styles were assessed using a four-factor model while self-esteem was evaluated using two different scales. Multiple analyses were completed to find that self-esteem changed across the age range, and across parenting styles. The study looks at the ways in which these two variables changed. Implications, limitations and future research opportunities are discussed.

Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean By Bullying?, Kristin E. Bieber

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The definition of bullying most often used by researchers incorporates three key elements: repetition, intent to harm, and a power imbalance (Olweus, 2010). Past studies have found that students may not understand how this definition of bullying is different from general peer aggression, and that they may report their involvement in instances of aggression that occur only once, or happen among individuals of equal power, when they are asked about their involvement in bullying (Monks & Smith, 2006).

This dissertation examined: a) grade differences in students’ abilities to accurately apply the definition of bullying when determining if a behavior is …

Form And Functionality Of Playful Aggression In Young Adults, Catlin H. Dennis

Scripps Senior Theses

Ethological and developmental studies have demonstrated the presence and importance of playful aggression for primates and children; additional studies suggest that playful aggression is also present in adulthood but is adapted and incorporated into relationships in different ways than it previously was in childhood. Little is known about young adults’ perceptions of playful aggression in romantic relationships, especially among same-sex couples. This study investigated perceptions of aggression when the sexual orientation of the couple, the severity of aggression, and the response of the recipient, who was receiving the aggression, were manipulated in a series of scenarios. Young adults, ages 18 …

Trauma And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder In Therapeutic Day School Students: Prevalence In This Population And Effective Treatment Programs, Monica Roberts

Dissertations

This survey-based, comparative study investigated the percentage of students at a suburban Chicago therapeutic day school who meet criteria for clinically significant levels of PTSD as compared to students in a general education setting. The directional hypothesis was that students placed at therapeutic day schools have a higher prevalence of PTSD than a general population of students. The method used was a survey assessment called the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) given to 16 students at a suburban Chicago therapeutic day school. These CPSS scores were analyzed and statistically compared to CPSS scores of an already published study with students …

Therapeutic Interaction With Children Through Play, Carolyn J. Dix Ms.

Senior Honors Theses

In the field of early childhood counseling, there has been a recent trend towards play therapy. Play is often referred to as the language of children because they can communicate their thoughts and feelings in ways that they express verbally. Therapeutic play sessions give therapists an opportunity to communicate with a child on his or her level which can provide more insight as to how to proceed with the therapy. The outcomes of play therapy implementations are substantially positive, and this therapeutic practice is becoming widely-accepted in the cases of childhood abuse, children with disabilities, children in hospitals, grieving children, …

Lateralized Difference In Tympanic Membrane Temperature: Emotion And Hemispheric Activity, Ruth E. Propper, Tad T. Brunyé

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We review literature examining relationships between tympanic membrane temperature (TMT), affective/motivational orientation, and hemispheric activity. Lateralized differences in TMT might enable real-time monitoring of hemispheric activity in real-world conditions, and could serve as a corroborating marker of mental illnesses associated with specific affective dysregulation. We support the proposal that TMT holds potential for broadly indexing lateralized brain physiology during tasks demanding the processing and representation of emotional and/or motivational states, and for predicting trait-related affective/motivational orientations. The precise nature of the relationship between TMT and brain physiology, however, remains elusive. Indeed the limited extant research has sampled different participant populations …

Nurturing A Creative Mindset, Ismet Mamnoon

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

ABSTRACT OF PROJECT

Nurturing a Creative Mindset

Anyone can make a shift to a more creative mindset by making small but deliberate changes in their thinking and attitude. The Creativity Cards provide a number of simple activities and prompts that heighten awareness around creativity skills and help individuals make the changes that make them more mindful, open to novelty, tolerant of ambiguity, playful, visionary, able to sense gaps, flexible, fluent and original when generating ideas and willing to allow for incubation. These skills are identified through a detailed review of skill sets related to Creative Problem Solving and Torrance’s creativity …

Pengembangan Bahan Ajar Untuk Meningatkan Perilaku Sosial Anak Prasekolah Melalui Kreativitas Bahasa, Nurchasanah Nurchasanah

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This research aims to develop teaching materials for kindergarten teachers, PGTK lecturers, and students majoring in PGTK to improve preschoolers’ social behavior through a language creativity approach. Specifically, the objectives of the study were formulated as follows. In the first year, the study aimed (1) to describe (a) the kindergarten curriculum related to the development of children’s social behavior and (b) previous studies on social behavior and its development, and (2) to develop a prototype of the teaching materials. In the second year, the study focused on conducting expert validation and try-out activities. This research employed a Research and Development …

Using The Scientific Method To Guide Learning: An Integrated Approach To Early Childhood Curriculum, Hope K. Gerde, Rachel E. Schachter, Barbara A. Wasik

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in how early childhood programs prepare young children for science. Due to a number of factors, including educators’ low self-efficacy for teaching science and lack of educational resources, many early childhood classrooms do not offer high-quality science experiences for young children. However, high-quality science education has the potential to lay an important foundation for children’s knowledge and interest in science as well as reinforcing and integrating critical language, literacy, and math readiness skills. This paper examines the current research on science in preschool classrooms and provides suggestions on how to teach science that …

Stop Blaming Video Games For America's Gun Violence, Kristin M.S. Bezio

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Recently, America's attention has been understandably focused on the potential causes of increased violence - especially gun violence - particularly among children and youth, and how to stop it. Alongside gun-control proposals, some of which President Obama is likely to highlight in his State of the Union address tonight, much of that attention has looked at the potential of violent video games to cause or exacerbate the tendencies of youth to engage in real, harmful violence.

The Neural Mechanisms Of Semantic And Response Conflicts: An Fmri Study Of Practice-Related Effects In The Stroop Task, Zhencai Chen, Xu Lei, Cody Ding, Hong Li, Antao Chen

Education Sciences and Professional Programs Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Childhood Rage: Diagnosis And Treatment Strategies For Severe Mood Dysregulation - Part 2: Diagnosis And Treatment, Gary A. Sibcy, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Attachments And Neurobiology: Helping Children With Anxiety Disorders And Severe Mood Dysregulation, Gary A. Sibcy, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Childhood Rage: Diagnosis And Treatment Strategies For Severe Mood Dysregulation - Part 1: Understanding Rage, Gary A. Sibcy, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Understanding And Managing The Adhd Experience From Childhood Through Adulthood, John Kuhnley

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

“I’Ve Devoted My Entire Life To My Daughter—And She Knows It”: Exploration Of Identity Development Among Now-Adult Navajo Native American Adolescent Mothers, Rochelle L. Dalla, Kathryne Bailey, Ashley Cunningham, Nicolette Green, Jenna L. Vyhlidal

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

n 1992 (n = 21) and 1995 (n = 8), the principal investigator collected data from 29 reservation-residing Navajo Native American teenage mothers. A primary goal of the 1992 and 1995 investigations (Time 1) was to examine the identity status of the young women in relation to commitment to the maternal role using Marcia’s (1980) framework. Results revealed that an approximately equal number of participants could be classified as achieved, moratorium, foreclosed, and diffused (see Dalla, 2000). In 2007 (Time 2), the principal investigator returned to collect follow-up data at the Navajo Reservation, where she interviewed 21 (72%) of the …

Let’S Discuss: Teaching Students About Discussions, Eve Brank, Lindsey Wylie

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Research consistently demonstrates the benefits of employing classroom discussions; however, there has been less attention given to teaching students about discussions. The current research compared 2 advanced social psychology courses: 1 without (control) and 1 with (experimental) a week devoted to learning about and discussing discussions. Several different indicators showed marked improvements for the experimental group as compared to the control group. The differences between the two classes were particularly noticeable at the beginning of the semester. Even though the control group was able to eventually obtain similar scores, the differences at the beginning of the semester suggest that students …

Improving Self-Esteem Through Art For Incarcerated Youth, April Murphy, Jeff Beaty, James Minnick

Social Work Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Computarized [Sic] Cognitive Training On Working Memory In A School Setting, Tessy Tatiana Pumaccahua

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of computerized cognitive training to increase the cognitive ability children with learning disabilities in a school setting over a period of 10 weeks.

A Parent Education Curriculum For Families With An Autism Spectrum Disorders Child, Amber Marie Vela

Theses Digitization Project

This project provides a comprehensive, parenting education program that focuses on educating parents of young newly-diagnosed ASD children about coordinated services, supporting the family to promote the ASD child's growth and development, and supporting the family system during critical early years.

Mothers' Use Of Corporal Punishment And Their Capacity For Parental Reflective Functioning, Deanna Marie Herndon

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between parents' capacity for reflective functioning, their childhood experience of being disciplined, and their current disciplinary practices.

An Application Of The Theory Of Multiple Intelligence To Improve Academic Performance And Achievement Goals In The Early School Years, Marilyn Victoria Garcia-Mata

Theses Digitization Project

The present research project applied Howard Gardner's MI theory to the social studies curriculum of a third grade classroom. This intervention seeks to increase student's academic grade scores and learning goal orientation in the social studies chapter of Old and New Communities. The participants for this research project were third grade students enrolled at Assumption Catholic School in Los Angeles, California. The sample consisted of 11 third grade children.

The Role Of Reinforcement On Cognitive Control And The Differences Between Adults And Children, Jacquelyn Helen Dziadosz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which motivation affects cognitive control in both children and adults. Cognitive control has been defined as the ability to represent and maintain goal information. Cognitive control involves basic processing abilities such as working memory, inhibition, attention, and cognitive flexibility.

Independent Living Oldest-Old And Their Primary Health Provider: A Mixed Method Examination Of The Influence Of Patient Personality Characteristics, Lee Stadtlander, Martha Giles, Amy Sickel, Emma Brooks, Cherri L. Brown, Melissa Cormell, Lara Ewing, Delores Hart, Dawn Koons, Christie Olson, Pamela Parker, Veronica Semenova, Shawna Stoneking

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This convergent mixed methods study examined 35 healthy, independent living individuals' (over 85 years) perceptions of their relationship with their primary health provider (PHP) and health practices. The relationship between PHP relationship perceptions and locus of control (LOC), resilience, and self-efficacy was explored through surveys and interviews. The majority indicated they visited their PHP just for preventative care; the number of PHP visits per year was significantly lower than reported for individuals over 85 by the CDC, possible reasons for this finding are provided. A positive relationship between LOC, resiliency, and self-efficacy for the oldest-old was found. Few participants indicated …

Parent Beliefs And Children’S Social-Behavioral Functioning: The Mediating Role Of Parent-Teacher Relationships, Elizabeth Moorman Kim, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Kyongboon Kwon, Natalie A. Koziol

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This research investigated whether parent-teacher relationship quality mediated the relation between parents’ motivational beliefs and children’s adaptive functioning and externalizing behaviors. The sample consisted of kindergarten through third-grade children with behavioral concerns (N = 206). Parents reported on their motivational beliefs (i.e., role construction and efficacy), and teachers reported on the quality of their relationships with parents and children’s adaptive functioning (i.e., social and adaptive skills) and externalizing behaviors. Results indicated that parents’ motivational beliefs were related significantly and positively to children’s adaptive functioning and negatively to children’s externalizing behaviors. Parents’ motivational beliefs were also significantly associated with enhanced …

The Efficacy Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation On Parents And Children In The Home Setting: Results Of A Randomized Controlled Trial, Susan M. Sheridan, Ji Hoon Ryoo, Andrew Garbacz, Gina M. Kunz, Frances L. Chumney

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The present study is a large-scale randomized trial testing the effects of a family-school partnership model (i.e., Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, CBC) for promoting behavioral competence and decreasing problem behaviors of children identified by their teachers as disruptive. CBC is a structured approach to problem solving that involves consultants, parents, and teachers. The effects of CBC on family variables that are commonly associated with important outcomes among school-aged children (i.e., family involvement and parent competence in problem solving), as well as child outcomes at home, were evaluated. Participants were 207 children with disruptive behaviors from 91 classrooms in 21 schools in …

Mexican-Origin Youths’ Trajectories Of Depressive Symptoms: The Role Of Familism Values, Katharine H. Zeiders, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana J. Umana-Taylor, Lorey A. Wheeler, Norma J. Perez-Brena, Sue A. Rodriguez

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Purpose—To describe Mexican-origin youths’ trajectories of depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence and examine the role of three aspects of familism values: supportive, obligation, and referent familism. Methods—Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 492) participated in home interviews and provided self-reports of depressive symptoms and cultural values at four assessments across an 8-year span. Using a cohort sequential design and accounting for the nesting within the 246 families (2 youth per family), we examined depressive symptoms from ages 12 to 22 years and the within-person, between-sibling, and between-family effects of familism values. Results—Mexican-origin males’ depressive symptoms decreased across …